Voting-machine.



PATENTED MAR. 19, 1907.

W. J. LAUSTERER. VOTING MACHINE. APPLICATION r-ILE'D SEPT.23,1905L 2 SHEBTE-BHEET 1.

4 A TTORNEYY.

THE NORRIS PETERS c No. 847,416. PATENTED MAR-19,1907.

Q w. J. L-AUSTERER. VOTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 815F123,- 1905.

. '2 sums-sum a.

WITNESSES.

ATTORNEY,

Hfl gA/T'Ok NITED STATES jFgTENT OFFICE,

l/VILLIAM J. LAUSTERER, OF JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO U. S. STANDARD VOTING MACHINE COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK,

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

VOTING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 19, 1907.

Application filed September 23,1905. Serial No. 279,831.

, merals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to means for so coupling or connecting the balloting devices of voting-machines as to perniit the proper voting for candidates who have been indorsed by different political parties, and this whether one or a plurality of said balloting devices are operated by the voter; and it has for its object to provide a device or attachment preferably applicable to machines now in use and of the type in which the registers devoted to candidates for the same office are arranged in the same vertical column and those to the same political parties in the same horizontal row, said registers being sinultaneously operated by a movement of the actuators relative to the frame supporting the registering-wl1eels, by means of which the actuators of registers devoted to the satne candidate in the same or different party rows may be connected for SILIlIll" taneous operation.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements hereinafter described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 represents a rear elevation of a portion of the register-frame and two register-channels, showing my attachment applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of two of the counter-channels with the attachment, showing a connection between two different sets of registers. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a portion of the attachment, showing the manner of connecting the registers of two sets of indorsed candidates. Figs. 5 and 6 are details of the bell-cranks that are coupled to the pallet-bars of the indorsed candidates. Figs. 7 and 8 are modifications of the connectmg devices.

Similar reference-numerals in the several figures indicate similar parts.

The registers in connection with which my invention is employed are practically of the same type as that described in the patent to A. J. Gillespie, No. 761,218, in which the registering-wheels are operated by a pallet-bar, such as 1, movable with reference thereto. These pallet-bars or actuators are supported in the channel-frames 2, and each is placed immediately beside its counter 3 and is provided at its outer end with a slot or aperture 4. The register-channels 2, each embodying a plurality of registers, are arranged consecu tively in a movable frame embodying the top plate 5 and the bottom plate 6, and each channel contains registers devoted to candidates for the same ofhce. The register-actuators may be operated relatively to the channel-frames,-as by holding the actuators stationary and moving the register-frames. The device or attachment constituting my present improvement is designed to provide a means particularly applicable to machines of this type for permitting the connection of the register-actuators or similar parts for indicating or registering a vote and in its present form embodies a support, indicated by 7 and in the form of a bar, having means for its ready attachment to and removal from the register-frameconsisting of a narrow bracket 8, secured to its lower end and having the lugs 9 9 engaging the lower bar 6 of the frame, and at its upper end a movable bracket 10, having a lug 14:, adapted to engage the rear side of the plate 5, and a stud 15, serving to engage the front of one of the register-channels and to position the support. The bracket 10 is pivoted to the bar or support at 11, and both the bracket and support are provided with apertures 12, through which is adapted to be passed a cotter-pin 13, holding the bracket support in engagement with the register-frame, as shown in Fig. 2. The brackets 8 and 10 are sufficiently narrow to pass between the counterchannels, and the manner of connecting them to the register-frame permits their ready insertion and removal, as the device is particularly adapted as an attachment for permitting indorsed-candidate voting and is not used on the machine when there are no indorsed candidates to be voted for. The bar 7 serves as a support for levers 18, adapted to be removably connected therewith and of such construction that they may be cheaply made and readily attached to the register-actuators 1 or corresponding moving parts and to each other, so that any two or more of the voting devices in the same or adjacent rows may be connected for operation. In order that this may be accom ')lished without taking up too much room, I prefer to make said levers 18 in the form of bell-cranks stampedv from sheet metal and pivoted at their centers to the support 7 and having one arm extending vertically to engage the registeractuator 1 and the other extending rearwardly between the counter-channels and adapted to be attached to a connecting-bar 22, so that when. any one of the actuators is moved rearwardly the connecting-bar will be moved vertically or transversely of the planes of movement of the actuators and. all the actuators connected thereto correspondingly operated. If it is desired to have a second set of indorsed candidates in the same column, additional bell-crank levers (indicated by 26, Figs. d and 6) maybe mounted on the support 7, but reversed in position, the vertical arms thereof being pivotally connected to the actuators 1, while the outwardly-extending arms are pivotally connected to a connecting-bar 28, or it it is desired to couple the connecting-bar 22 with an. actuator in an adjacent column, as when a register in the said. column is devoted to a candidate whose name appears in the first-mentioned column, one of the bell-cranks may be provided with the lateral extension, indicated by 44-, as shown in Fig. These bell-cranks may be of any suitable pattern but I prefer to make them in such a way as to permit oi their ready assembling in the machine and their easy removal therefrom, and for this purpose several different types are shown. In Fig. 5 I have shown the details of a preferred form of bell-crank, which is formed of sheet metal and is provided at its middle with. a keyholeslot 19, corresponding in shape with the head of a stud 17 on the support 7, and is adapted to be applied to the support by registering said opening with the head and slipping it over the stud-head, after which it can be turned at an angle thereto for the purpose of locking itself on the stud. The circular part of the opening forms a bearing on the cylindrical part of the stud, and the long angular head thereof, which at first fills the opening 19, serves to lock the bell-crank in place after it has been slipped over the stud and turned at an angle thereto. A similar opening 20 is provided at the end oi the arm 5, through which can be slipped the heaes ol' the studs 2 1 on the bar 22, by means o'l which the bellcranks are coupled for simultaneous action, the bell-cranks being connected to the studs on the bar 2 and support 7 by placing the bars 22 and 7 close together, and the arm 23, which is provided with the opening 20, points upwardly. The other arm 24 ol the bell crank is provided. with a stud 25, which engages with the slot or opening 4 in the actuator or pallet-bar of the register. The bellcranks are placed on the support 7 according to the needs of the registers that are to be coupled, and I prefer that the bar 22 be first connected to the bell-cranks of its series, and then the support 7 can be set in its proper place in the machine and fastened in place as described.

The bell-cranks 26, which I prefer to employ in connection with the additional coupling-bar 28, are shaped as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, the arm 24 having a stud 25 thereon similiar to the one shown in Fig. 5; but, as is shown in Fig. 6, the other arm, corresponding to the arm 23 of the bell-crank 18, is in this case turned to the right and is provided with a slot 29 therein, which may be passed over the shank of a beaded stud 30 in the bar 28, after which the pivoted locking-arm or catch 31 may be drawn down behind the head for the purpose of holding the bell-crank to the stud 30. Any number of these bell-cranks may be assembled in this way to places not already occupied. by the bell-cranks ol' the other series, and they will connect with. their register actuators or pallet-bars by means of the studs 25, just as do the other series of bell-cranks. I Vhen an actuator belonging to either series is operated, it will cause the operation of its bell-crank, and through the connecting-bar 22 of the one series or the bar 28 of the other series it will drive all of the bellcranks connected to it and will cause the simultaneous operation o'l all the registers connected to it. The bar 22 is made sulliciently thin so that it will slip between the knurled wheels carried. on one register-channel and. the side of the adjacent channel, its normal operating position being just back oi the knurled resetting-wheels, as shown in Fig. 2.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have shown other modifications of the connections between the bellcrank and the support 7 and the connectingbars 22 and 28. Fig. 7 shows a type of hellcrank intended to couple between the support 7 and the connecting-bar 22, and it is supported on the bar 7 by a cylindrical stud with a head 38 larger than the body of the stud. A keyhole-slot 32 is provided in the bell-crank, the largerportion of which is large enough to slip over the head of the stud, and after the bell-crank has been placed thereon it can be moved sidewise until the stud engages with the smaller part of the opening. At the outer end 01'' the arm 33 of the bellcrank is a slot 34, that engages with a large headed round stud 35 on the connectingbar 22. After the connections have been made with the bars 7 and 22 the studs may be locked in place by swinging the arm 36 to a position into line with the arm 33 of the bell crank lever, in which position the curved end 37 of the arm will cooperate with the stud 38, and the recess 39 in the opposite end of the arm 36 will engage with the head l of the stud 35. The stud 25 on the bellcrank in Fig. '7 will engage with the palletbar, as in other cases. The bellcranks shown in Fig. 7 are intended to engage with the bar 22, which is slipped in between the counter-channels. In Fig. 8 I have shown another type of bell-crank, intended to couple the support 7 and the bar 28, and in this construction the short arm of the bellcrank has cut therein a recess 40, which engages with a large headed round stud 41 on the bar 28, and directly opposite this slot is cut another slot 42, extending to the hub or center of the bell-crank, which slot is intended to be engaged with the headed stud 38 on the support 7. After this bell-crank has been placed in its proper relation with the bars 7 and 28 the S-shaped locking arm 43 can be turned to its position in line with the arm of the bell-crank and will lock the bell-crank in engagement with both the studs 38 and 41.

The device shown herein is very cheap, the parts being stamped out of sheet metal and the attachment as a whole being readily applied to voting-machines now in use, it being understood that one of the supports 7 and a suitable number of the bell-cranks are provided f or each register-channel, said supports to be applied and the connections madeas required for each election held on the machine.

IVhile I prefer to make the supports 7 for the connecting-levers removable in the manner shown, it will be understood that they could be permanently fastened to the register-frame and the connections between the registers and levers capable of disconnection, if desired; but the attachment as shown herein is found in practice to be simple, efficient, and relatively inexpensive.

I claim as my invention-- 1. In a voting-machine, the combination with a plurality of voting devices, of a support, a plurality of movable parts mounted thereon connected to the voting devices to move with them whenever said devices are moved and a coupling-bar connected to said parts for causing their simultaneous operation when one of them is operated.

2. In a voting-machine, the combination with a plurality of voting devices, of a support, a plurality of levers pivoted thereon connected to and moving with said devices whenever said devices are moved, and a coupling member connected to said levers for causing their simultaneous operation when any one of them is operated.

3. In a voting-machine, the combination with a plurality of voting devices, of a support, a plurality of bell-cranks pivoted thereon connected to and moving with said devices whenever said devices are moved and a coupling member connected to said bellcranks for causing their simultaneous operation.

4. In a voting-machine, the combination with a plurality of voting devices, of a support, a plurality of independently-pivoted levers thereon connected at one end with said devices and moving with them whenever said levers are moved and connections between said levers for causing the simultaneous operation thereof and of said voting devices in the same direction when one of said devices is operated.

5. In a voting-machine, the combination with a plurality of voting devices, of means for coupling said devices for simultaneous operation embodying a support, a plurality of independently-pivo ted levers mounted thereon one positively connected to each voting device, and positive connections for simulta-v neously operating said levers in the same direction when one of them is operated.

6. In a voting-machine, the combination with a plurality of voting devices, of a support, two sets of .independently-pivoted levers mounted thereon, positively connected to the voting devices, independent connections for the levers of each set for causing the simultaneous operation thereof in the same direction when one of the levers is operated.

7. In a voting-machine, the combination with a plurality of registers and register-actuators movable relatively thereto, of a plurality of levers independently pivoted upon the register support and connected positively to the actuators and coupling devices between said levers for causing their simultaneous operation when any one of them is operated.

8. In a votingmachine, the combination with a support, a plurality of registers therein and register-actuators movable relatively thereto, of a plurality of independently-pivoted bell-crank levers on the support connected positively at one end to the registeractuators and a coupling-bar connected to the ends of said bell-cranks for causing their simultaneous operation when one of them is operated.

9. In a voting-machine, the combination with a support, a plurality of registers thereon and register-actuators movable relatively thereto, ot a plurality of independently-pivoted levers detachably mounted on the support and positively connected to the actuators and detachable connections between said levers for causing their simultaneous operation when one of their! is moved.

10. In a voting-machine, the combination with a register-frame, a plurality of registersupports having registers and movable register-actuators, ot a support on the frame, a plurality of bell-cranks pivoted on said support each having one arm connected to a reg ister-actuator and the other extending between the register-supports and connections between said last-mentioned arms for causing the simultaneous movement of the registeractuators.

11. In a voting-machine, the combination with tWo rows of n'iovablc votingdevices, ol. a support, a lever pivoted tl'iereon and connected to a voting device in one row, a second lever connected to a voting dev' e in an adjacent row and a connection between said levers for causing their simultaneous movement in the same relative direction when either one is operated.

12. In a voting-machine, the combination. With two rows of movable voting devices, of a support, levers pivoted tl'iereon and connected to a plurality ol. devices in one row, a second lever connected to a voting device in an adjacent row, and a connection between said levers tor causing their simultaneous movement in the same relative direction When either one is operated.

13. In a voting-machine, the combimition With two rows of movable voting devices, of l a support, a bell-crank pivoted thereon hav ing the vertically and longitudinally extending arm, the former being connected. to a voting, device in one row, and a second bellcrank pivoted on the support having its horizontal arm connected to the correspoinling arm of the other bell-crank and having also a laterally and vertically extending portion connected to a voting device in the adjacent row.

14.. in a voting-machine, the combination With a plurality of registers and actuators therefor movable in paralle. planes, ot a co upling-bar movable transversely to the planes of movement of the actuators and positive connections between said coupling-bar and the actuators for causing the simultaneous movements of the latter.

15. The combination with a plurality of registers and longitudinally-movable actuators therefor, of a coupling-bar movable transvcrsely of the actuators and positive connections between said coupling-bar and the actuators for causing the simultaneous movement o'l the latter.

16. An attachment for voting-niachines embodying a portable, indepemlent support, a plurality of indcpendcntly-pivotml. levers mounted thereon adapted for attachment to register-actuators and connections between connected. to register-actuators and connections between the corresponding arms of said levers for causing their sinmltaneous operation in the same direction when any one of said registers is operated.

17. An attachment for voting-machines embodying a portable, independent support,

said. bell-cranks for causing; their simulta ncous operation in the same direction when any one oi the registers is operated.

18. An attachment for voting-machines embodying a portable, independent support, a plurality ol' independent levers detachably pivoted thereon and a coupling-bar detachably connected. to one end o'l said levers.

19. An attachment for voting-machines embodying a support having; detachable clamping; devices thereon, of a plurality of independent bell crank levers dctachably pivoted thereon and adapted to be connected to register-actuators, andv a cormling-bar detachably connected to one end of said levers.

20. An. attachment l'or voting-machines embodying a portable, independent support, a plurality oi? independent bell-cranks pivoted ther on, each having on one arm a la terall extendino projection for connection with a reeistcr-actuator, and a connectingbar detachably connected to the other ends of said lovers.

2]. An attachment for voting-machines embodying a portable, independent support, a plurality of independent bell-cranks pivoted thereon. by slot-aml-pin connections, and a coupling-bar connected to corresponding; arms of said bell-cranks by slot-and-pin connections.

22. An attachment l'or voting-machines consisting oi a support, a plurz'tlity oi independent bell-cranks pivoted. thereon by a keyhole-s ot and howled-pin connection and a coupling-bar connected to correspomline arms of said boll-cranks by similar connections embodying keyhole-slots and hauled pins.

L3. An attachment for voting-machines consisting; ot a bar having the headed pivotpins thereon, a plurality oi levers having the keyhole-slots intermediate their length coopeatine with said pins, and. l cyhole-slols at one end, and a coupling-bar provided with headed pins thereon cooperating with the slots on the ends of the lovers.

An attachment for votii'irr-machim-s embodying a support, a plurality of hel cranks pivoted thereon having vertical and horizontal arms, a bar connecting the hori- Zontal arms oi said bell-cranks and a second plurality of bell-cranks pivoted. on said support having their horizontal arms cx'tmiding' in the opposite direction from the lirst-mcntioned ones and connections between said horizontal arms.

25. In. an attachment for voting-machines,

. the combination with a bar or support having i plates at opposite ends provided with vertically-extending lugs, one of said plates being movable and means for securing it in posia plurality of independently-pivoted belil tion, of lovers pivoted on said support and cranks mounted thereon and adapted to be 1 connections between said levers for causing their simultaneous operation in the same direction.

26. In an attachment for voting-machines, the combination with a support, a plurality of levers and pivotal connections between said levers and the support permitting their lateral removal when in one position and locking them from lateral movement when in another, of a coupling-bar cooperating with one end of each of said levers and pivotal connections between said bar and levers permitting its lateral removal when in one position and locking them from lateral movement when in another.

27. As an attachment for voting-machines, the combination with a bar or support having headed studs thereon, of a plurality of bell-cranks having keyhole-slots cooperating with the studs, and a lateral projcction on one arm and an aperture in the other arm and means for connecting the apertured ends of said arms.

28.. In an attachment for voting-machines, the combination with the support, of a bellcrank pivoted thereon, a second bell-crank pivoted on said support having the lateral extension and means connecting correspondmg arms of said bell-cranks. 7

29. In an attachment for voting-machines,

the combination With a support having a headed pin, of a bell-crank having a keyholeslot cooperating with the pin to secure it in position and permit its pivotal movement thereon and a laterally-extending pin on one arm of said bell-crank adapted to engage with a register-actuator.

30. In a voting-machine, the combination with the register-frame, the register-supports thereon each having a plurality of registers, each register embodying a reciprocable actuator, of a support connected to the registerframe, a plurality of bell-cranks pivoted thereon, each having one arm extending in the plane of the frame and connected to a register, actuator and connections between the other arms of the bell-cranks so that motion imparted to one actuator will be communicated to the others.

WILLIAM J. LAUSTERER.

Witnesses:

MARTIN L. BADHORN, ALEXANDER B. CORCILIUS. 

